Swing arm brick transfer apparatus

ABSTRACT

A pair of support arms are rotatably mounted perpendicular to each other on a vertical shaft to rotate back and forth in a horizontal arcuate path above a dual kiln car path. One of the arms rotates between a first position over one path and a second position above an intermediately disposed take-off platform while the other arm rotates between a position over the other path and a second position above the same take-off platform. Each arm includes a plurality of vertically movable gripper heads suspended therefrom and selectively adapted to rotate at least 90* about its own vertical axis. The arms are so connected to the vertical shaft and with respect to each other that while the gripper heads of one arm are lifting or setting courses of brick on a kiln car in one path, the gripper heads of the other arm are setting or lifting courses on the intermediate platform. Also the gripper heads are so mounted on the support arms that they may be selectively moved with respect to the other gripper heads to provide clearance space therebetween to permit the rotation of the head necessary to set down or pick up all courses with the brick therein extending in the same direction in preparation for subsequent stacking or setting.

Oct. 14, 1975 dicular to each other on a vertical shaft to rotate back and forth in a horizontal arcuate path above a dual kiln car path. One of 'the arms rotates between a first position over one path and a second position above an intermediately disposed take-off platform while the other arm rotates between a position over the other path and a second position above the same take-off platform. Each arm includes a plurality of vertically movable gripper heads suspended therefrom and selectively adapted to rotate at least 90 about its own vertical axis. The arms are so connected to the vertical shaft and with respect to each other that while the gripper heads of one arm are lifting or setting courses 6 M, of brick on a kiln car in one path, the gripper heads of the other arm are setting or lifting courses on the in- I termed1ate platform. Also the grlpper heads are so mounted on the support arms that they may be selectively moved with respect to the other gripper heads to provide clearance space therebetween to permit the rotation of the head necessary to set down or pick up all courses with the brick therein extending in the same direction in preparation for subsequent stacking or setting.

4 Claims, 9 Drawing Figures 214/1 BC; 198/25; 214/6 M 1m. B65G 47/08 214/1 BC, 1 BH 214/1 BH X FOREIGN PATENTS OR APPLICATIONS W. Harris, Siler City, both of N.C.

Forrest Paschal Machinery Co., Siler City, N.C.

Apr. 24

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS Gurgacz ABSTRACT 5/l962 Germany SWING ARM BRICK TRANSFER APPARATUS Inventors: Cletus E. Lineberry, Staley; Jimmy Assignee:

Filed:

[21] Appl. No.: 463,449

US. Field of Search C United States Patent Lineberry et al Primary ExaminerRobert J. Spar Assistant Examiner-George F. Abraham A pair of support arms are rotatably mounted perpen- U.S. Patent Oct. 14,1975 Sheetl0f7 3,912,089

U.S.- Patent Oct. 14,1975 Sheet3of7 3,912,089

US. Patent 00:. 14, 1975 Sheet 4 of7 3,912,089

U.S. Patent Oct.14,1975 Sheet5of7 3,912,089

US. Patent Oct. 14, 1975 Sheet 7 of 7 3,912,089

FIG. 7

FIG.

FIG.9

SWING ARM BRICK TRANSFER APPARATUS BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION Existing plant layouts often dictate the placement of unloading and stacking machinery. Since these layouts were generally originally designed for manualprocessing, such layouts are very often not easily adapted to automated machinery. This is especially true where automated machinery is designed for loading and unloading brick from kiln cars which run on tracks already in the floor of existing layouts.

It is very often necessary and desirable to work from two cars on two adjacent tracks to reach the production desired. Also, working two cars on two tracks when unloading permits blending of the brick from both cars into one package which will be shipped to a customer.

Linear unloading equipment in which carriages traverse back and forth in straight lines between the kiln cars and a platform are known. The traversing of carriages, however, takes time, so it is preferable to arrange a pickup platform for brick setting machines and a setdown platform on unloading machines as close to the kiln cars worked as possible. When working with two kiln cars, it is ideal to have the platform between the two cars so that traversing distance is kept at a minimum.

Often times, however, existing tracks in plants are laid too close for a platform to fit between loaded kiln cars. Even if the platform will fit between the loaded kiln cars, the loaded cars prevent access and view of the platform by an operator stationed to the side.

One possible solution to this problem is to arrange loaded kiln cars at the end of the setting platform or takeoff platform rather than beside it. This setup utilizes a pair of pickup heads, one operating on each kiln car, however each pickup head must traverse in two directions. Therefore, although the arrangement will work, it is complicated in that it requires two traversing drives, two power supplies, and two sets of controls for each head. It is apparent that there is considerable duplication of machinery in such an arrangement.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION In the present invention, however, this excess equipment is eliminated and each head is moved through an arcuate path rather than in two linear paths. The system of the present invention includes two arms extending perpendicular to one another and rotatably mounted on a central shaft. Each arm includes a plurality of pickup heads thereon adapted to deposit or pick up a course of-brick from a selected stack on a kiln car. The arms simultaneously pivot 90 so as to move each head between its respective kiln car and a common takeoff or setting platform. The pivot point about which the arms rotate is preferably equidistant between the two kiln cars being worked, although such is not necessarily the case.

Each gripper head is also arranged to rotate at least 90 about its own vertical axis, so as to provide for the criss-cross pattern of bricks on kiln cars. The gripper heads are also movable with respect to each other during the traversing step, so that a space may be opened up between adjacent gripper heads to permit the 90 rotation thereof as described hereinabove. This spreading may be accomplished by moving selected heads in and out either longitudinally or transversely to the longitudinal axis of the support arm or by arranging each head on a separate hoist or alternate heads on separate hoists so that a difference in elevation of adjacent heads may be obtained to permit the rotational clearance necessary.

Such an apparatus has definite advantages over known devices in that, first of all, brick can be loaded onto two adjacent kiln cars from an intermediate platform or unloaded from two kiln cars onto an intermediate platform by a simple arcuate'reciprocating motion. Such an arrangement minimizes a duplication of equipment as well as eliminating sequencing necessary with known doublt head machines, because the arms of the present invention are rigidly tied together and therefore moved together. t

In installations where there is not sufficient space for the takeoff platform to fit between two adjacent kiln car paths, the arrangement according to the present invention is much simpler than the previsouly known double traverse arrangement of independent carriages which would otherwise be required. The system of the present invention permits access and view to the platform which would not otherwise be provided if the platform were between two loaded kiln cars.

It is therefore one object of the present invention to provide an improved kiln car loading and unloading apparatus.

It is another object of the present invention to provide a kiln car loading and unloading apparatus of the type described in which the conventional linear traversing or double traversing methods are replaced by a reciprocating arcuate movement.

It is yet a further object of the present invention to provide a swing arm loading and unloading apparatus of the type described in which a plurality of heads, equal in number to the stacks of bricks across the kiln car to be loaded or unloaded, are provided on each of a pair of support arms.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a swing arm arrangement of the type described in which each pickup head rotates at least about its own axis to work the bricks from a common pattern to a cris's-cross pattern or from a criss-cross pattern back to a common pattern.

Finally it is an object of the present invention to provide a swing arm arrangement o'f the type described in which the pickup heads on each support arm are movable relative to each other to increase the spacing therebetween which is necessary to perform the rotation of the head throughout the 90 arc.

These and other objects and advantages of the present invention will more fully appear from the following description, made in connection with the accompanying drawings, in which:

FIG. 1 is a schematic plan representation of the apparatus according to the present invention;

FIG. 2 is a perspective view, with parts broken away, illustrating the swing arm loading and unloading apparatus according to the present invention;

FIG. 3 is an enlarged perspective view, illustrationg the carriage means by which the gripper heads are spread;

FIG. 4 is a plan view illustrating a single gripper head;

FIG. 5 is an elevation view illustrating the head of FIG. 4;

FIG. 6 is a schematic plan view similar to FIG. 1, except illustrating an alternate embodiment;

FIG. 7 is a schematic view illustrating a first alternate embodiment by which the heads may be spread apart to facilitate rotation thereof;

FIG. 8 is a schematic view, similar to FIG. 7, except showing a second alternate embodiment by which the heads may be spread apart for the rotation thereof; and

FIG. 9 is a schematic view illustrating a third alternate embodiment for spreading the head to facilitate rotation thereof.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT Turning now to the drawings, and in particular FIGS. l-5, there is illustrated a first embodiment of an apparatus in accordance with the present invention. In FIGS. 1 and 2, in general. a pair of perpendicularly arranged support arms 10,12 are mounted on verticle shaft 14 for arcuate rotation or oscillation in a horizontal plane between a first position (shown by the solid lines in FIG. 1) above one of kiln cars 16,18 which are proceeding along a dual path and a second position shown in the dotted lines of FIG. 1. Kiln car 16, which is representative of a line of kiln cars, moves along a path on one side of shaft 14 while the kiln cars 18 proceed along a second path on the opposite side of shaft 14. One of said arms rotates between a first position over the path of kiln cars 16 and a second position above an intermediately disposed takeoff platform 20, while the other arm 12 rotates between a position over the path of kiln cars 18 and a second position above takeoff platform 20. Each arm 10,12 has depending therefrom a plurality of gripping heads 22 a-d and 24 a-d, which gripper heads are selectively adapted to rotate at least 90 about its own vertical axis. Arms 10,12 are so connected to shaft 14, that while gripper heads 22 a-d of one arm 10 are lifting courses of bricks from the corresponding kiln car 16, the grippers 24 a-d of the arm 12 are setting courses down on platform 20. Also, a separating means associated with each support arm 10,12 movably supports each gripper head 22 a-d, 24 a-d therefrom to selectively provide clearance space therebetween to permit the rotation of the head necessary to set down all courses with the bricks therein extending in the same direction in preparation for stacking or to form the criss-cross pattern on the kiln car during the setting operation.

It should be noted here that the swing arm apparatus of the present invention may be utilized either to transfer or set raw bricks from the extruder onto the kiln cars in preparation for firing, or it may be utilized to remove cured bricks from the kiln car in preparation for stacking. However in the interest of simplicity, the description hereinafter will be directed to the unloading of kiln cars.

As is evident from FIG. 1, each kiln car has a plurality of stacks extending across the width thereof, and a separate gripper head is provided for each stack. Also, as it is evident from FIG. 1, the center line of each support arm 10,12 passes through the axis of rotation of the apparatus, so that all courses are set down on the takeoff conveyor in single file. As described hereinafter, other embodiments will modify this arrangement by placing the courses down on the takeoff platform in double file.

Turning now to FIG. 2, a more specific description of the preferred embodiment will follow. A support structure 26 includes side frames 28 which are secured to the floor of the plant on either side of the dual kiln car path and has an upper, central frame member 30 extending between the upper ends of side frames 28 and connecting them together. Approximately one half of the support structure 28 is illustrated in FIG. 2, however the other half is merely a mirror image of the portion shown. Angular braces 32,34 insure that the support structure 26 will remain firm and stable as designed. The support framework 26 is connected to shaft 14 by means of braces 36, and the framework acts as a counterbalance to insure that the post 14 remains erect when the weight of the support arms and bricks lifted thereby cause the center of mass to be shifted considerably to the other side of support column 14.

The support column 14 comprises several stacked units including the lower member 38 which is stationary, non-rotating, and secured to the floor by means of flange 40. An upper stationary, non-rotating portion 42 provides a means for connecting the brace or braces 36 from support frame 26. The support arms 10,12 are caused to rotate by means of the central shaft portion 44 which is rotatably secured between upper and lower shaft portions 42,38 in any conventional manner. For example, a cylindrical shaft (not shown) may extend upwardly and downwardly from central portion 44 and be received in an inner cylindrical bearing portion of upper member 42 and lower member 38. This is exemplary only, and it should be recognized that any of a number of means might be utilized to rotatably support the central portion 44 within the upper and lower portions 42,38.

A first hydraulic cylinder 46 has the cylinder portion thereof pivotally secured to a stationary portion of framework 26 by means of a tongue and flange arrangement 48. The piston of the cylinder is pivotally attached to the framework 52 of arm 12. A second cylinder 50 is similarly attached to the other side of framework 26 and the support arm 10. So arranged, the cylinders' cooperate so that as one is extending the other is retracted whereby rotation of the pivot arm structure is effected.

Support arm 12 comprises a frame 52 connected at one end to the central rotating portion 44 of central shaft 14 with the free end thereof extending out horizontally therefrom to a position overlying kiln car 18 as illustrated in FIG. 2. Frame 52 includes a plurality of bars 52a, 52b, 52c, and 52d. A pair of spaced transverse plates or frames 54,56 connect side bars 52c, 52d with side bars 52a, 52b at spaced points along frame 52. A hydraulic lift cylinder 58 is suitably secured, such as, for examplea strap 60 to the frame 52. The free end of the piston of cylinder 58 is secured to the carriage 62 of the gripping apparatus. As the cylinder 58 is activated and deactivated the gripping apparatus is raised and lowered to various points depending on height of the-stacks and the number of courses previously removed from each stack on the kiln car 18.

A pair of spaced, upstanding guide arms 64,66 having a length of gear track 68,70 secured thereto extend upwardly from the carriage 62 of the gripping apparatus and engage a horizontally extending gear bar 72 which is rotatably mounted in bearings in transverse frame members 54,56 to insure that the carriage 62 moves up and down in a linear path without inadvertent fluctuation.

Support arm 10 is also secured at one end thereof to the rotating intermediate section 44 of upstanding shaft l4 and extends outwardly in a direction perpendicular to both shaft 14 and the other support arm 12. The details of support arm are substantially identical to those of support arm 12 and further descriptionthereof is not deemed necessary, I

Looking once again at FIG. 2, the carriage 62 of the gripping apparatus includes a generally rectangular framework 74, the side members 76,78 thereof including inturned flanges 80 extending the length thereof which support a plurality of upper head plates 82,84,86, and 88 by means of rollers 90 which extend upwardly from the corners of said upper head plates for the spreading operation to be described hereinafter.

A lower head plate 92 (FIG. 3) is rotatably attached to each of upper head plates 82,84,86 and 88 and includes a post 92 extending through an opening '94 in the corresponding upper head plate 82,84,86,88. A cylinder and piston assembly 96 (either air or hydraulic) has the cylinder end thereof secured to a mounting bracket 98, which in turn is secured to the upper surface of one of the corresponding upper head plate (82, for example). Upon activation of the cylinder assembly 96, the piston thereof urges the post 92 and therefore the lower head plate 92 in a clockwise direction looking at FIG. 3, thereby selectively rotating the gripper assembly when cylinder 96 is activated.

A representative gripper assembly is illustrated in FIGS. 4 and 5 and includes an upper frame 100 from which side plates 102,104 depend. A surface engaging indicator or feeler 106 is activated as it engages the upper surface of the bricks on the kiln car and through a limit switch 108, a plurality of hydraulic cylinders I10, 112, 114, and 116 are activated to retract the normally extended pistons thereof which are secured to side members 102, I04, thereby effecting the clamping operation. A gripper control linkage 118 of conventional design connects the end grippers 102,104 in a well known manner to insure that they operate together synchronously. It should be recognized that the specific gripper head illustrated in FIGS. 4 and 5 is representative only and there are a number of various types of gripper heads that could be utilized within the scope of the invention. The specific gripper head illustrated is representative only and does not form a part of the present invention.

As stated hereinabove, it is necessary that the gripper heads separate before rotating to provide ample clearance therebetween for the rotation. One means of providing such a clearance space is illustrated in FIG. 3. The aforementioned carriage 62 with side frame members 76,78 further include a series of cross angle members 120, 122, and 124. A hydraulic cylinder 126 is secured to cross member 124 and the piston thereof is connected to an abutment 128 extending upwardly from the surface of upper head plate 88. When the cylinder I26 is activated, the piston thereof is extended to move upper head plate 88 toward one end of frame 74. A series of tie rods 130, 132, 134 extend between adjacent upper head plates so that as one mounting plate moves to the right as illustrated in FIG. 3, it will pull the successive mounting plate (86 for example) to the right also until the cap 136 at the end of each tie rod engages the corresponding mounting sleeve 138 through which the guide rods slide. The last upper head plate 82 includes an abutment 140 having a solid bar extending therefrom to the adjacent cross member 120 which holds the upper head plate 82 in place and stops the separation of the plates before reaching the end of the cylinder stroke. The aforementioned spreading and rotating operations are preferably effected during movement of support arms 10,12 from one position to another, however it should be recognized that such operations can be effected either before or after such movement of the support arms.

Sometimes the two kiln car paths of the dual path are so close together that there is not room to spread the heads inwardly in toward the shaft 14, and other equipment or the size of the building may prohibit a spreading outwardly of the heads as illustrated in FIG. 3. In such cases, the present invention envisions alternate methods of spreading the heads to obtain the necessary clearance. For example in FIG. 7 there is schematically shown an arrangement whereby each individual gripper head is raised and lowered with the its own separate cylinder and piston assembly. Alternate gripper heads are raised or lowered so that the rotation may be accomplished without interference by the adjacent head. In another arrangement illustrated in FIGS. 8 and 9, alternate heads may be shifted transversely of the longitudinal axis of the support arm 10,12 rather than in a direction parallel to the longitudinal axis of the support arms. In such an arrangement, the heads would be mounted on a wider frame than that illustrated in FIG. 3, and cylinders would move selected heads back and forth in the transverse direction at prescribed times. Upon making the lateral shift, the heads could either set down the courses as illustrated in FIG. 8 with the courses alternating in a dual path on the takeoff platform 20 prime, or else the courses could all be returned to the same center line and set down in a pattern as illustrated in FIG. 10. In either of these cases, the succeeding operation with the alternate support arm would fill in the spaces in the case of FIG. 8 or set bricks down on the other center line in the case of FIG. 9. In either case, the longitudinal axis of the support arm is preferably slightly offset from the axis of rotation of the whole apparatus as illustrated in FIG. 6. This permits a dual takeoff pattern rather than a single file takeoff pattern as described hereinabove.

The embodiment described hereinabove is representative only and not by way of limitation. Various changes may be made without departing from the scope of the invention which is to be determined by the following claims.

What is claimed is:

1. Apparatus for loading and unloading kiln cars, proceeding along dual paths, of the type including a. a vertical support shaft positioned between said two paths so that kiln cars'pass thereby on either side thereof;

b. a pair of horizontally extending support arms fixed perpendicularly with respect to each other and pivotally mounted on said shaft as to simultaneously rotate back and forth about the vertical axis of the shaft in an arcuate path defining a horizontal plane;

c. means for rotating said support arms back and forth in said arcuate path whereby one of said arms is moved from a first position over one of said kiln cars on one side of said shaft to a second position intermediate the two paths of said kiln cars and at the same time the second of said arms is moved from a first position intermediate the two paths of said kiln cars to a second position over another kiln car on the other side of said shaft;

d. a plurality of gripper heads positioned at spaced intervals along each of said arms and means for moving said gripper heads up and down;

e. a means for rotating each of said gripper heads about a vertical axis through an arc of at least 90; and

f. spreading means associated with each of said support arms for moving said gripper heads with respect to each other whereby the space therebetween is increased to provide clearance between heads for the rotation thereof.

2. The apparatus according to claim 1 wherein said spreading means includes a longitudinal actuating means for moving selected ones of said heads a prescribed distance along the longitudinal axis of said sup- 

1. Apparatus for loading and unloading kiln cars, proceeding along dual paths, of the type including a. a vertical support shaft positioned between said two paths so that kiln cars pass thereby on either side thereof; b. a pair of horizontally extending support arms fixed perpendicularly with respect to each other and pivotally mounted on said shaft as to simultaneously rotate back and forth about the vertical axis of the shaft in an arcuate path defining a horizontal plane; c. means for rotating said support arms back and forth in said arcuate path whereby one of said arms is moved from a first position over one of said kiln cars on one side of said shaft to a second position intermediate the two paths of said kiln cars and at the same time the second of said arms is moved from a first position intermediate the two paths of said kiln cars to a second position over another kiln car on the other side of said shaft; d. a plurality of gripper heads positioned at spaced intervals along each of said arms and means for moving said gripper heads up and down; e. a means for rotating each of said gripper heads about a vertical axis through an arc of at least 90*; and f. spreading means associated with each of said support arms for moving said gripper heads with respect to each other whereby the space therebetween is increased to provide clearance between heads for the rotation thereof.
 2. The apparatus according to claim 1 wherein said spreading means includes a longitudinal actuating means for moving selected ones of said heads a prescribed distance along the longitudinal axis of said support arms.
 3. The apparatus according to claim 1 wherein said spreading means includes a transverse actuating means for moving selected ones of said heads a prescribed distance horizontally and perpendicular to the longitudinal axis of said support arms.
 4. The apparatus according to claim 1 wherein said spreading means includes one of said means for moving said gripper heads up and down associated with each of said gripper heads, said last mentioned means being independly activated to move selected ones of said heads vertically and perpendicular to the longitudinal axis of said support arms. 